Wear Your Death Date On Your Wrist

Blunt, existential reminders, like Robert Herrick’s poem “To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time,” have been around for ages, always providing a tap on the shoulder that, dear mortal, the clock is ticking.

For a more literal interpretation of this carpe diem theme, there’s Tikker, a watch that not only tells time, but counts down the years, months, days, hours, minutes and seconds until your death. Sure, it’s a morbid accessory, but like Herrick, Tikker’s creator wants to remind people to lead a more vibrant life.

“I think we can have a better life, and make better choices, if we are more aware of our upcoming expiration, Fredrik Colting told Mashable. “It gives us perspective — the little stuff suddenly doesn’t seem so important anymore. That’s why I see Tikker as a happiness watch.”

The watch comes with a questionnaire designed to help wearer’s estimate their remaining years. Once programmed, the liquid crystal display starts the count down. Launched as a now-funded Kickstarter campaign, the black and white time piece can be yours for $39.

“Tikker isn’t really about the technology, because what it is, in its most basic form, is an advanced egg timer,” Colting said in an interview with All Things D. “But the point we are trying to make is that the wearer should in some way be conscious of their own expiration, and that in turn will make you better appreciate life. Like people who’ve had near-death experiences, or lived through diseases.”